Posted: Fri, May 27, 2005, 2:38 PM ET (1838 GMT)
Two Orbital Sciences Corporation facilities, including the company's headquarters, were searched by federal investigators Thursday as part of a probe into the aerospace company's contracting practices. Agents from the Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS) executed search warrants Thursday at Orbital facilities in Dulles, Virginia, and Chandler, Arizona. The DCIS told employees of both facilities to go home Thursday morning as the investigation began. The government released no details regarding the nature of the investigation, but Orbital, in a statement issued Friday morning, said that the company believed it was associated with contracting procedures on government launch vehicle programs. In the statement, the company said it does not believe it has violated any laws or procedures, but cannot go into more detail at this time. The Chandler facility, located in the Phoenix suburbs, manufactures launch vehicles and missiles; the Dulles facility, in the Washington DC suburbs, is the company's headquarters and satellite manufacturing center.